Three Right Turns
by Newgirl78
Summary: It's the briefest moments that can change the entire direction of our lives. What if the world had had a different plan? If you thought everything you had known suddenly disappeared, would it give you the courage to fight for the things you were always afraid to ask? Would you finally jump without knowing exactly where you would land?


**I accepted a challenge to write a story based on a scene from a list of three movies. This was a little out of my comfort zone, because you all know how much I love my fluff. But that's why it's called a "challenge". I hope you enjoy it.**

**And, of course I'm still working on my other stories, WOULD YOU SETTLE DOWN. ;-)**

* * *

"Turn left." Jess smiled as she finished buckling her seat belt.

He shook his head as he pulled out into the road. "No, I'm going to make three rights."

"No Nick, just _turn left_."

Smiling, he shook his head again. "No, it's slower my way."

She started to giggle. "Why would you want to go slower?"

"Because," He glanced over at her and pointed at himself while smiling smugly. "I'm the one that's driving and I get to decide."

She reached over and lightly slapped his arm. "But it's _my_ car."

He raised his eyebrows, shaking his head. "Typical woman, always telling me what to do!"

She laughed as her voice got louder. "Hey, that's _your_ woman, Mister!"

He glanced over at her and reached for her hand. Pulling up to a red light, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly. His voice wavered slightly, eyes twinkling. "My _beautiful _woman."

Jess giggled, flipping the chest strap of her seat belt behind her back. She leaned forward to kiss his lips, a soft moan escaping as they melted into each other. Their eyes were startled open by the beeping horn of the car behind them as the light turned green. Laughing, Jess twisted to reach for his knee as Nick pushed his foot on the accelerator.

That's when it happened.

If only he had waited even one more moment.

Time seemed to stand still as the next few seconds passed in slow motion.

A truck going the opposite direction came barreling through the red light. The last thing Nick remembered was seeing the bright headlights through Jess' window and the soft feeling of her hair falling across his arm as the car stopped spinning.

Silence.

* * *

"Sir. Can you hear me? Sir?"

Nick tried to open his eyes, but his lids felt so heavy. Feeling a trickle of something wet over his right eye he went to reach his arm in the air, only it wouldn't move. There was something laying against him.

"Sir, can you tell me your name?"

His voice was scratchy, and despite his best efforts, his body felt so stiff it wouldn't cooperate. "Nick...Miller." Muffled voices sounded like they were all around him as he heard the loud buzz of a saw against metal.

"Your passenger. Can you tell me your passenger's name."

Passenger? He was still in the car. _OMG, JESS_. Suddenly he was able to will his eyes open. Fighting the sharp pain in his neck, he twisted his head to the right. That's when he saw her. Her hair laying across his lap and her body limply slumped across the center console.

NO.

He screamed her name. "JESS! JESS, are you okay? Jess ANSWER ME..."

The man over his left shoulder spoke again. "Jess. Can you tell me her last name?"

"Day...My ...Jessica...My girlfriend..."

"Okay, okay, that's good sir. I'm going to move your shoulders forward just a little now, Mr. Miller. We need to get this brace on your neck. I want you to try and stay calm."

"What happened?! WHY ISN'T SHE MOVING?!"

"Sir, I need you to work with me so we can help your girlfriend."

_Girlfriend. Jess was finally his girlfriend. Why was this happening?_

* * *

The next moments seemed like an eternity. No one would tell Nick anything about Jess. He tried to pay attention to what they were all mumbling to each other, but his head was throbbing and his chest burned from the force of the airbag. He felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness, unable to formulate any real thoughts. There were split seconds in time when he would open his eyes and forget what was going on. By the time they arrived at the hospital, he was feeling more awake.

"What's going on? Tell me where Jess is!"

The nurse was taping a piece of gauze over the stitches above his right eye. She smiled gently and reached down to pat his hand. "I'll do what I can to find out."

He laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes. His thumbs nervously twitched over his index fingers as his mind raced. _Why won't they tell me what's going on? What happened out there? How could I have been so stupid? What if something horrible happened to her?_

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the approaching doctor until a throat cleared next to him. "Mr. Miller?"

Nick's eyes shot open as he sat up. Wincing slightly, he reached out to grab the sleeve of the doctor's white lab coat. She had big brown eyes that looked like they had something horrible to tell him. "Tell me what happened to my girlfriend. Please."

The doctor took a deep breath. "Your girlfriend suffered a head injury in the accident. From what we can tell, the force of the impact caused her to hit the right side of her head on the center panel. The officers at the scene noted that her seat belt was only fastened across her lap, but she's very lucky it wasn't much worse. They're finishing up her CT scan right now."

_The seat belt. He remembered her moving it so she could lean into him. This was all his fault. If he had only..._

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Opening them again, he looked at the doctor. "When can I see her?"

The doctor's face softened. "I see that you've only suffered a minor cut above your eye, so as soon as you think you're ready, I can take you to her." She gently laid her hand on his arm. "But I must warn you, she hasn't woken up yet, and there's really no way of knowing when that will be."

* * *

By the time they had given him the okay to leave his bed, he was angry and anxious to see Jess. When the doctor ushered him through the door to her room, he sighed with relief seeing that she was awake.

_Everything was going to be fine. She was FINE._

He ran toward the bed out of breath. "JESS. Thank God. Tell me you're okay!"

She turned toward him and gave him an icy glare that made him stop in his tracks as he reached for her hand. "I already told the other doctor..."

He interrupted her as he shook his head. "Jess, it's me. NICK."

She shook her head and pulled her hand back from his. "I'm sorry, I...what did you say your name was again?"

"Please Jess, cut it out." He looked from Jess to several of the doctors around the bed, then back to Jess. _Why wouldn't anyone look him in the eye?_ "This isn't funny anymore. Cece's wedding? The car? We...we uncalled it. Don't you remember?"

Her eyes got wide. "Cece is married?! Since when? She isn't even dating anyone! I don't understand."

His eyes went wide, refusing to think the worst. "Jess, Shivrang. You mean...Jess..." His voice trailed off as he turned his head toward the doctor on the other side of the bed. "What's going on? Is this some sort of JOKE?! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU!" He snapped his head back toward Jess, bending down and frantically shaking her hand. "Jess, it's ME. NICK. We're together now...you." his voice cracked and he felt tears well in his eyes. "We waited so long...you have to remember." He watched as her head pulled back into the pillow, a terrified look on her face. Hands were now on his arms, pulling him backwards. He tried his best to hold onto her hand, but she pushed him away with tears in her eyes.

"Mr. Miller, she..."

"I'M NOT LEAVING UNTIL SHE REMEMBERS ME." He yanked away from the doctor's grasp and threw himself onto the bed, trying desperately to hold her hand as she looked on in fear. "Jess, please." He was pleading with her now, tears streaming down his face. "I never told you, I ...I never told you I love you. Please. You have to remember me. US. I LOVE YOU, JESS."

Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are, you're scaring me. PLEASE LEAVE. GET HIM OUT OF HERE."

She didn't know who he was. He had lost the only person he had ever truly cared about.

It was too late.

* * *

Nick's eyes flew open and he felt himself gasping for air. His eyes darted around frantically as he quickly sat up, realizing he was in Jess' bed. He felt someone shaking his arm as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Nick."

He turned his head as tears immediately flooded his eyes.

Jessica.

She was right here next to him.

And she just said his name...

For a split second he gazed deep into her eyes and then grabbed her shoulders roughly, throwing his arms over her shoulders and pulling her tightly to his chest. He felt the tears begin to fall down his cheeks.

"Nick, what?" She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, feeling his entire body shaking. "Oh my God Nick, what's wrong?"

He couldn't seem to formulate words, but simply shook his head as he sobbed quietly in her ear. She gently started to stroke his back, speaking softly in his ear. "Shhhh. Nick it's okay. Everything's fine, I'm right here."

He took a deep breath, gradually releasing his hold on her. He pulled back and stared into her confused eyes for a moment, before placing his hands on either side of her face. She smiled and reached up to brush the tears from his cheeks. His voice was weak and broken. "Jess, you ...and we didn't...and you remember." He was gasping for air as he was finally able to form a string of words, although not making much sense. She could still feel his body shaking.

Jess laid her hands softly on his wrists as his hands remained on her face. She tilted her head, concerned. "Did you have a bad dream? Are you okay?"

He began to shake his head, lowering his gaze and swallowing hard. Breathing slowly in and out, he finally felt his heart rate returning to normal. "God Jess. We..." He looked deep into her eyes as they seemed to softly encourage him to continue. Her hands gently rubbed his forearms as he closed his eyes briefly before he continued. He could barely muster a whisper. "We never made it home from Cece's wedding, we were in a car accident. You..." He shook his head and leaned close to her, touching his forehead to hers. His voice broke, "You didn't remember me." She watched his eyes once again fill with tears. "Jess, I love you so much and..."

"Oh Nick." She wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him close, gently running her fingers through his hair. "You're shaking. It must have been horrible. I never should have picked that stupid movie. I'm so sorry." She hugged him tighter. "But I'm here and I love you and I'm not going anywhere."

Nick took a few deep breaths before letting out a small laugh, pulling away. He shook his head. It had taken him a second to realize what had happened. "The movie. I must have fallen asleep."

She brushed her hand across his forehead, smiling. "You lasted about twenty minutes." She let out a laugh and swatted his chest. "And you started to snore too!"

"Hey I don't snore!"

She poked his chest playfully. "You do too, mister!"

They both started laughing, as Nick finally began to relax. Hesitantly, he let go of Jess to rub his temples with his hands. "God, I...I don't even remember coming to bed."

Jess linked her arms through his and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "You were pretty out of it and fell right back to sleep." She tilted her head to look at him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "You didn't even notice me undressing you." She winked, as he shook his head laughing.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up like that." He kissed her forehead and she smiled.

"That's okay." She squeezed his arm. "As long as you're alright." She sat up straight and softly ran her left hand down the side of his face. Quietly, she whispered, "Are you?"

He swallowed and leaned down to give her a soft kiss. "I'm here with you, so I'm okay."

She tilted her head and smiled, pulling away from him to get off the bed. "I'll go get you something to drink."

"NO!" He grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her back on the bed, startling her.

"Nick, what..."

He took a deep breath, immediately loosening his grip on her arm. "I'm sorry. I just..." His eyes searched hers with a frantic urgency. "Don't go."

Her face softened and she slowly turned toward him. "I won't." Leaning close to him, she pressed another kiss to his lips.

Nick shook his head, letting out a small laugh as he relaxed and slowly laid back down. Pulling the sheets up and over them, Jess turned and nestled closer to him, pressing her back into his chest as he gently swept her hair back over her shoulders and kissed her neck.

"I love you, Jess."

She smiled and relaxed into his arms. "I love you too, Nick."

Laying there in their bed, he took a deep breath and tried to relax. It was just a dream. He hadn't ever lost her. She was right here in his arms. Safe.

She fit so perfectly in the gentle curve of his body as he wrapped his right arm around her waist and threaded his fingers through hers. He pulled her to his chest as tight as he could and closed his eyes, inhaling her magnificent scent as he rested his head on the pillow just above hers.

"Jessica, I don't want to ever let you go. I can't ever feel that pain...of losing you. It was so real."

She squeezed his hand in hers and pressed back against him even tighter. "You won't Nick, I promise." Her voice dropped to a whisper, afraid of what might happen if she said the next thing too loudly. "I want this to be forever."

And with that, every doubt he had been having for the past few weeks about taking the next step melted away. In that dark and quiet room that they now shared, he smiled. Tomorrow he was finally going to do it. He was going to start making moves, grown up moves.

He was going to ask Jessica Day to spend the rest of her life with him.

If he knew in his heart that he wanted to go left...life was too short to keep making three rights instead.


End file.
